Kabul, MINA – Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has pledged to hold the trilateral Ulema conference, as per schedule to be held in the month of March, despite Taliban’s denial for participation, media report said on Monday.

The trilateral conference of religious scholars from Afghanistan, Indonesia and Pakistan was proposed by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his official visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh in January of the year in order to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The offer was welcomed and accepted by Kabul government; however, Islamabad has yet to comment over the issue. On the other hand, Taliban has announced their denial to the group’s participation and termed the conference as a misleading move.

Responding to Taliban’s refusal, the Indonesian Ulema Council said the tripartite conference would be held on due date, this month.

“Maybe the Taliban is not well- informed and received the wrong information about the conference,” MUI’s head of international relations department, Muhyiddin Junaidi told Arab News.

Junaidi said the conference is aimed at sharing expertise over conflict resolution and seeking a popular mechanism on issuing religious decrees on various issues.
“We just want to listen to them and share our experience in resolving conflicts. We also want to synchronize our procedures on issuing a fatwa,” Junaidi added.

Moreover, MUI Secretary-General Anwar Abbas urged Taliban to make sure the group’s participation in the conference and be a part of peace process to put an end to the bloody war in Afghanistan.

According to the Arab News, Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s director for the South and Central Asia region, Ferdy Piay has confirmed Taliban’s opposite stance over the issue, but declined to comment further.

Taliban has earlier conveyed a message to the Afghan, Pakistani, Indonesian and other Islamic countries scholars to avoid such conferences on peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

The other day, the Chief Executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah office has warned the militant group to embrace peace or completely elimination from the surface of the earth. (T/RS5/RS1)